Thea gained her consciousness, taken aback that she's lying in a large rock when she remembers dozing off under a tree. She hears a mysterious reverberating sound from nowhere and a bright, sparkling light partly covered by trees between her confusion. She stood up, advancing towards the inexplicable unworldly phenomenon with curiosity and wonder. She hides behind the tree, slowly peeking over the blinding light. She cudgeled her brain with mouth agape on what she saw. It's York, but it's not. With her two eyes, a vision of York changing under a blueish-green flame and sparks of white embers.
His entire body is changing into an animal form. Thea can't exactly describe what kind of animal he transformed to. But his feet are changing to hoof; his legs became cannon, he got hock instead of knees and gaskin above it. All coated over flat, silky-gold horsehair. His thighs grow bigger that slightly and slowly tore his soft jeans, cargo short pants. Below his belt almost looks like a horse but, he doesn't have a horsetail. Instead, a tail that looks like a raccoon, it's length almost reaches its hock and has probably eight black rings alternating the gold. His torso's shape is on his usual manly form, with broader shoulders in the same golden hairy skin, which is also partly covered with golden bushy hair surrounding his head, leaving space on his face like a lion's mane. Yet, it didn't cover his almost feet long pointed elf's ear. His eyes are tinted with gold and orange and a few red stains, and the pupil is slit-shaped like those of a cat.
She freezes for a moment; her feet and knees are stiff and shivering. She hadn't noticed, but her cheeks are now wet with tears, skin hairs standing, pulled to the air with fear and timidity. It took a couple more minutes before her feet now recklessly receded, planning to grow less visible from York's view. Yet, the crunchy dried leaves betrayed her, and it crackled as she stepped on them, which surely caught York's attention. Made her decide to run away. In which direction? She couldn't care less, on her thought is questions above all her confusion. Yet, she feared answers, feared that there would be no other excuses or reasons, and what she latches on to is the reality that everything is just maybe a dream again, a very long dream turning to nightmare, fantasy turning to horror.
*****
The crisp sound of dried leaves behind the tree diverted York's attention. Eyes firmly close full of concentration, he opened his palm as his setting in his power to make things more apparent to the object of his target vision. Zooming in a flash, the blocking trees and bushes disappeared from his vision, and he zoomed in on Thea with his view, and she was running away. York is taken aback upon discerning her with the expression of dread on her face.
York stopped maneuvering his power, closing his hands as he slowly opened his eyes, shoulders hunched morosely and dejectedly. From that moment on, he perceived that by that time, Thea already knew about his real identity, and the fact that she's running away, shaking in her shoes, simply means she can't allow herself to be with him, that she can't accept the true him. In his mind, his amenable to the feeling of dejection; however, his heart is protesting, overpowered by love. He always knows for himself what Thea means to him. He had to talk to her, show her everything about him, and prove his unpretentious intention. Once again, he manifests his power with full concentration to fathom Thea's present location.
In his vivid mental image, the fearful Thea never stops or slowing his feet, moving further, determined enough to be in the farthest place away from him, not minding her possible destination. On the other hand, York sensed the danger coming for Thea. A few more steps, Thea will soon reach the sequestered cliff with a drop to death. Not a second wasted, with a fast flick of his hand, York disappeared into thin air, leaving some scattered sparks of embers.
Gasping for breath and with her brimful speed. Thea was surprised as a horrid blackness in the deep and beetling cliff was revealed upon her face. She tried to stop abruptly, but it's too late; her foot slipped and pulled her down to the cliff. A nostalgic occurrence of someone snatching her away from death is the last thing she'd comprehend before her scream faded, together losing her consciousness.
*****
"Thea, Thea!"
She wakes up to York's voice and the clamors in the background. She's inside the tent, back at the camp. Setting aside all the obscurities, Thea moves back, caught in a hop, seeing York in front of her. Her usual scared expression is now raggle-taggle with forlorn, suspicious, repulsive, and perplexed. "Go away from me."
"Hey! You're just dreaming." York vouches defensively. He's already in his human form, wearing his best angelic yet hesitant and nervous smile.
"No! I'm not!" More vehemently, Thea stands to believe in what she saw. " What I saw is real! And even if it's not, still it's not a dream; it's a nightmare!"
"OMG! She looks insane?" A teasing and sardonic voice of Nerie pans out behind York, as she, with the others, peeks from outside the tent.
"Can you please give us just a moment?" York asked slowly to the group, holding back his annoyance.
"But York!" Nerie was about to insist.
Keeping the aggravation in check, York closed his eyes, utters " Please.."
She'd pulled away from the tent with one of her friends. Nerie, with knitted eyebrows and a one-sided raised mouth, tugged her arm away from her grip and moved straight away back to the bonfire, leaving all of them behind.
"Thea-I.." York attempted to touch her, but then he just clenched his fist in hesitation. He's out of a perception of how Thea felt, and he's not gonna make it worse.
"Please go away from me, leave me alone." Thea's hoarse, feeble voice synced with her lone and anguished cry.
York bowed his head in defeat and went out. Hoping to find another time, enough time to explain to Thea everything and praying she might hear him out and accept as well his veritable identity.
The natural chimes of the woods with the wee hour air, swishing with the frigid breeze. The leaves, like the thinner trees, joined the air with their suppleness. Some careful steps pushed the muddy ground underneath their bare feet, moving carefully towards the quiet and sensuous moaning sound of pleasure inside one of the tents. A pair of silhouettes, a man and a woman, reflected in the weak and about-to-die bonfire outside the tent, moving just as thou dancing in cadence with each other, together with the sound of their libidinous moans.
Inside the tent, the girl with the ash gray hair arches her body and opens her mouth, as her partner chomps at the bit, thrusting her rapidly. As they reached the climax of their physical satisfaction, they flopped as they lay on their back, gasping for air after expending their strength.
"Need to smoke outside, wanna come?" He sat up and got his hand on his vape.
"Yup, got to pee too."
Together they stepped out of the tent. The boy sat down within spitting distance of the fire. He pressed the fire button of his vape while she went straight behind the large trunk of an acacia tree to take a whiz. She glanced back with her seductive smile, asking her boyfriend to watch her back, and he nodded. But actually, the smoke coming out of the vape fogged his view of her girlfriend made it vaguer in the absence of ample lighting, and he didn't care until he heard a short, trimmed shrill of his girl.
He stands up to check her out. But then, someone, a girl covered in darkness, pulls and thrust him towards the acacia tree. His body is motionless with the feel of her bosom in his chest as her lips determine and overpowering, finding his. The kiss, so whimsical never he had felt in all of his experiences, just like it's taking his soul, and it did even take his consciousness.